1st Candle – Chanukah here, there, and everywhere (but especially there!)

This is a phrase form a Hebrew song about Hanukkah, and the best way that we have found to verbally describe the holiday spirit as it is celebrated in Israel.

In our home, Israel, most of the people that surround you are Jewish. Therefore, the holiday spirit is felt all over. Everywhere you go, you’ll experience the holiday. Students have celebrations in school, Youth Movements create beautiful decorations and community ceremonies, the TV shows change their themes into Hanukkah themes. Take a look at the Sesame Street video at the bottom of this post, and you’ll see what we are talking about!

It is very similar to the Christmas atmosphere that one can sometimes feel here. The trees that you see here all over turn themselves into Menorahs in Israel, jingle bells to dreidels, gingerbread to Sufganiyot (Our special version of Donuts), decorated gift shops into… decorated gift shops.

Since there are eight candle lightings, each night you get to see other people you haven’t seen in a long while. From family to friends, to your parent’s friends from the army, to a candle lightening with your youth movements friends…

So what will we miss the most?

We sure will get a great embrace from the Jewish community here. However, there’s no place like home- is there? We will be missing our families, our friends, the huge menorahs in front of our towns, the Festigal (every Israeli kid’s FAVORITE Hanukkah show that gets better every year), even our parents’ friends from the army…

Have a great Hanukkah,

We are thrilled to be here with you and celebrate it your way…

Below is an entertaining compilation of Hanukkah on Israeli TV, beginning with the Israeli Sesame Street, Rechov Sumsum.